This week we are going to be visiting with three holy women–Eugenia, Anna of Constantinope, and Euphrosyne–who lived out their lives in disguise in monasteries. Two of them were trying to escape detection by their fathers; the other wanted to live near a beloved uncle, her last family member, who was a monk. It’s unknown whether they preferred dressing in male clothing. But what is clear is that by choosing to live in a men’s monastery–unlike St. Xenia of Petersburg who lived in the world in her late husband’s army uniform–they were faced with the constant threat of discovery and severe punishment, a daily anxiety that their monastic brothers didn’t have to cope with.
St. Eugenia of Rome
St Eugenia was born around 190, the daughter of Roman aristocrats, Philip and Claudia. When the family moved to Alexandria, Eugenia converted to Christianity after encountered the epistles of St. Paul. She took two servants, disguised herself as a man, and became a monk in a local monastery, where she was known as Eugenios. After she had spent a good while in the monastic life, and her ascetic labors had given her the gift of healing, a woman named Melanthia accused “Eugenios” of raping her. Eugenia was called to trial in front of the prefect–who was her father. She revealed herself to him, at which point he himself became a Christian and was later martyred. Eugenia and two companions were later martyred in Rome. Her feast day is December 24.
Holy Saint Eugenia, pray to God for us!
St. Anna of Constantinople
Born in Constantinople around 750, St. Anna was the daughter of the steward of the church of Blachernae. She married and had children, but soon lost her husband and both sons, as predicted by an uncle who was a monk. She distributed her wealth to the poor, had herself tonsured, and disguised herself as a monk, eventually moving to her uncle’s monastery in Olympos, Bithynia, perhaps in an attempt to be near family. She soon attracted fame as a wonderworker, and so many novices flocked to the monastery that it was moved from Olympos to Constantinople. When another brother eventually accused her of being female (and pushed her down a steep hill to try to prove it), she went into seclusion to avoid scandal and lived out her days in a monastery in the Sigma area of the city. Her feast day is October 29.
Holy Saint Anna, pray to God for us!
St. Euphrosyne of Alexandria
St. Euphrosyne was born around 410, the only child of an illustrious family. Her mother died early, so she was raised by her father, a deeply committed Christian who used to take her with him when he visited his spiritual advisor at a local monastery. When Euphrosyne turned 18, her father wanted her to marry, but she wanted to live her life as a monastic. Because she was afraid her father would be able to find her if she took refuge in a woman’s monastery, she dressed herself as a monk, had herself tonsured, changed her name to Smaragdos. She then joined the same monastery that her father used to take her to. They didn’t recognize her dressed men’s clothing.
She spent 38 years in a solitary cell in works, fasting, and prayer, and attained a high level of spiritual accomplishment. Before she died, she revealed her secret identity to her father, who spent the last years of his life as a monk in what had been his daughter’s cell. St. Euphrosyne's feast day is September 25.
Holy Saint Euphrosyne, pray to God for us!